Community violence and psychological distress: the protective effects of emotional social support and sense of personal control among older adolescents.

This empirical study investigated three mechanisms of protection (preventive, compensatory, buffering) for two factors (emotional social support, sense of personal control) in the relationship between exposure to community violence and psychological distress among 947 diverse, older adolescents. Findings indicate that social support and sense of personal control do provide protection; however, the primary mechanism is compensatory (for support r = -.35; for control, r = -.48). Support but not control serves a preventive function (r = -.11). Neither variable protects via buffering-the mechanisms most commonly discussed in the literature. Protection is not a simple straightforward process.